BEIRUT // Funerals were held across the Middle East on Tuesday for victims of the Istanbul nightclub shooting, many of them young partygoers whose lives were cut tragically short.
Thirty-nine people were killed in the attack claimed by ISIL, most of them foreigners and many of them nationals of Arab countries.
From Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya, the victims had travelled to Istanbul to spend New Year’s Eve at the exclusive Reina club on the shores of the Bosphorus. But they returned home in coffins.
Lebanon’s prime minister Saad Hariri was at Beirut airport for the arrival of the Lebanese victims, including three dead: Rita Shami, 26, a student, Elias Wardini, also 26, a personal trainer, and Haykal Musallem, 36, a physical fitness trainer with the Tadamon Zouk basketball team. His wife survived the attack.
“Terrorism has no religion, it targets us all, it targets people who love life,” Mr Hariri said.
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Istanbul attack
■ Family's tears for Layan, 'just a shy, innocent child' murdered in Istanbul
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Wardini’s body was carried through the streets of Ashrafiyeh, the largely Christian district of Beirut, to the sounds of traditional darbuka drums and trumpets. As is traditional in Lebanon when a young, unmarried person dies, the funeral ceremony also included wedding accoutrements, with the church decorated in white flowers.
His two older sisters collapsed several times during the ceremony, one them crying, “Get up! Why don’t you answer me?”
Arab Israeli Layan Nasser was only 18 and on her first trip away from her family. On Tuesday in her small predominantly Muslim hometown of Tira north of Tel Aviv, shops and restaurants closed as several thousand people gathered to pay their respects before her coffin was taken to a mosque prior to burial.
“She was kind, loveable and clever,” said her uncle Rani. “It’s so hard to understand. A few days ago we could hold her and now she is gone.”
Local imam Abdul Rahman Kashoa spoke of the distortion of Islam. “There can never be a justification for this,” he said.
Funerals were also held on Tuesday for Tunisian Mohamed Azzabi and his French-Tunisian wife, Senda Nakaa. Their five-month-old daughter Chirine, is now an orphan but the French ambassador to Tunisia, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, said: “France will treat her as a ward of the nation.”
The Saudi Gazette newspaper on Tuesday reported that among the victims were Saudi twins Mohammed and Ahmed Saud Al Fadl, 24, who died together in the attack. They had just graduated from university. The newspaper identified another of the Saudi victims as 24-year-old Lubna Ghaznawi, who was at the club with two girlfriends.
Funerals were also held in Jordan on Tuesday for Nawras Assaf and Mohammad Al Sarraf, as members of the Jordanian parliament held a moment of silence for the victims.
* Agence France Presse
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester
Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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